History British television and film production company established in 1929. Located in West London. Oldest continuously working studio in the world. First purpose sound stages built in (Britain) 1935, some still used today which allowed for dialogue to be used in films. 1955 – 1995 BBC previously owned Ealing Studios. Known for their comedy films during comedy films during 1940 – 1950. During post world war two. Follows Britain’s historical events.

Basil dean Theatre director. Created Associated Talking Pictures (ATP) which later became Ealing Studios. Built studios based on U.S. studios that he’s seen. First film ‘Escape’ (1930) of Ealing Studios directed by Basil Dean. 1938, left to return to the theatres.

MICHAEL BALCON Producer at Ealing Studios. From 1938, known as ‘’golden era of Ealing Studios”. Helped build Alfred Hitchcock’s career. Used to work for MGM’s British branch.

Codes and conventions Mainly known for their comedy films – e.g. ‘Passport to Pimlico’ (1949), ‘Kind Hearts and Coronets’ (1949), ‘The Ladykillers’ (1955). Documentaries filmed too. Mainly black and white films. Uses a lot of British colloquial language. After World War Two, films were “optimistic and forward looking.”

Star appeal Sid James – ‘The Lavender Hill Mob’ (1951) Will Hay – ‘My Learned Friend’ (1943) Madeleine Carroll – ‘Loves of a Dictator’ (1935) Carol Reed (Director) – ‘Midshipman Easy’ (1935) Margaret Lockwood – ‘Lorna Doone’ (1934) Gracie Fields – ‘Sally In Our Alley’ (1931) George Formby – ‘No Limit’ (1935) Sid James – ‘The Lavender Hill Mob’ (1951) Basil Radford (prominent in Ealing Film’s) – ‘Whisky Galore’ (1949) Alexander Makendrick (Director) (Considered greatest director of comedy period 40s – 50s) – ‘The Ladykillers’ (1955)

Representation Ealing films represented something intrinsically and culturally British “Ealing films stood for decency, democracy, community, pluck and fair play.”

Integration Production: The majority of Ealing films were produced at Ealing Studios. Distribution: Distributed across Britain and USA through different distribution companies such as Rank Organisation (UK) and Continental Distributing (US).

British film institution Five categories: - A: Films made with British money, personnel and resources. B: Films co-funded with money from British and foreign investment, but the majority of finance, cultural content and personnel are British. C: Films with mostly foreign (not USA) investment and a small British input, either financially or creatively. D: Films made in the UK, usually with British cultural content, financed fully or partly by American companies. E: American films with some British investment.

British VS Hollywood British Hollywood Reality – based. British films shows a variety in different lifestyles of the British population whereas Hollywood only shows a small percentage of those living in Britain (Posh Londoners). Poor at distribution. Poor market budgets causing unknown stars to be unable to promote globally. Films usually based on the ‘American Dream’ Fairytales or focusing on the impossible – “Glossing over things”. Vast amount of genres. Large budgets. Distribution and marketing is key. Highly effective in production, distribution and exhibiting.

A non- government organisation. Founded in 1912, nationally classifies and censors films within the United Kingdom.

References (Not in order) http://www.slideshare.net/HannahCharlesMedia/britsh-films-vs-american-films http://www.imdb.com/company/co0040024/#productionX20company http://badassdigest.com/2013/08/07/community-crumpets-and-crime-an-ealing-studios-primer/ http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/456030/ BFI Youtube http://www.bbfc.co.uk/education-resources/education-news/same-difference http://www.medienabc.org/page32/files/page32_6.pdf OCR Media Studies for AS http://www.britmovie.co.uk/studios/Ealing-Studios/1/